Till Your Binds Break
by Wandering Cat
Summary: oneshot, RathLyn...After the war, Lyn returns to her grandfater and Caelin knowing that there will not always be something there for her. Luckily for her, a certain nomad comes to pay a visit.


**Till Your Binds Break**  
Wandering Cat  
Dedicated to IceBlade28, who by responding to my endless pairing-related whining began a chain of e-mails that urged me to write a fic and even proofread it for me. Thanks, mate!

Wandering Cat: Finally, I've stopped my whining and wrote something. Actually, I'm going to keep whining, but now I have the right to. So there.

--------------------Let's see how long this takes. It's 5:30 Thursday the 15th...now!---------------------------------

The princess of Caelin stared sullenly out from her balcony, watching as the last rain drops fell against the sunset. Her eyes fell upon the old oaks, to their leaves. They were slouching, water drops weighing them down. She watched the water slide off and the leaves spring back to their usual place, relieved of their burden. And she couldn't help but be jealous; not all problems could slide away like that, not all weights will just fall off. Lyn, the heir to both Caelin and the deceased Lorca tribe, wished that her worries would fall away, just like rain drops. She too was slouching with an unwelcome burden; the haunting knowledge of her poor grandfather's inevitable passing, the scornful citizens of Caelin, worries for her future and theirs, and the impending loneliness she had experienced for years now.

There was a slow, rhythmic sound in the distance that stole her attention from the leaves, a familiar sound she couldn't quite place her finger on. Yes, she had heard that noise before on many occasions. Lyn, welcome of a distraction and becoming curious, determined the direction from which it came, east, and deftly climbed down the ivy ladder toward the same hillside where she had bid the strange tactician farewell years before.

It was then that the realization hit her, as she rounded a corner. She had heard the beat many times over the years, that she already knew, and she could have slapped herself for not recognizing it earlier, had she not been frozen with shock. It was the hoofbeat of a strong, Sacaen steed, specifically of the Kutolah tribe. There were now three obvious solutions to this scenario: It could be a messenger from the plains, a knight who had gotten his hands on a Sacaen mount, or it could be...

And it was. Heading straight in her direction against the sunset, Lyn could now see, was the austere Sacaen prince, Rath of the Kutolah, the Wolf of Sacae. He drew closer painfully slow, sitting coolly on his huge white stallion, expression same as ever--a scowl -- but all the more welcome. Had she not been still with shock, she'd have run toward him, but all she could do was stand and stare. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he was within feet of her, close enough to spit on, and yet she still stood, staring. He merely stared back, the fading sun reflecting on the longish green hair and tanned skin of his face.

"...Lyn of the Lorca." was all he said, in his usual low, smooth voice. "...There are still bandits, even this close to the castle. No patrol, here...You may get killed." With this, he cast a suspicious glance around to emphasize his point, though it was obvious that he didn't know what else to say.

Lyn too was at a loss for words. Why would Rath be in Caelin, and not Sacae? Had he not fulfilled his duty, and was quietly eager to get home, skipping the, as Hector put it, "Nergal's dead and Elibe is safe--let's party!" celebration? Granted, he would have shrugged off the celebration anyway, but it was still disappointing that he didn't say good-bye...

Rath cocked an eyebrow; it wasn't usual for the sociable Lyn to stand speechless for so long. Without a sound, he dismounted his steed and took a step closer. "Lyn...?" he whispered, snapping her out of the trance.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, Rath! I'm just...shocked to see you here." Lyn responded with a wave of her hand. " I thought...that Dragon's Gate was the last time I'd ever see you..." Lyn had unconsciously spoken her thoughts, blushing as she heard her own voice.

His face softened slightly, but only so much that it was barely visible. He took a small step forward, lowering his eyes to meet hers.  
"Do you not wonder why, after all we've been through, I didn't say good-bye?" He said quietly.

Lyn started. She shifted her eyes from his and backed up a little, controlling her whip of a ponytail as the find blew hard. A brown leaf blew itself into her bangs, though she didn't notice. Once again, Lyn was at a loss for words, so she just gave a weak nod and blushed.

Rath took another step forward and reached out to knock the leaf off, though his hand remained by her cheek. His eyes took on a warmth which matched that of his hand on her face. "Good-bye...is forever. I wasn't gone forever, just a while."

Lyn could only stand and stare in shock, distracted partly by his rough, warm hand, but mostly by the tone of his voice and the words it spoke. For such small usage, Rath's voice had always been fairly smooth, but almost always cold and confident. Now, though...it was soft and shy. Collecting her own voice into what she hoped would be her normal tone, Lyn finally overcame her surprise to reply to him.

"Why...why are you here? Why not in Sacae, where you belong?"

"You belong in Sacae as well. But here you stand." He stated, finally removing his hand.

He was right. Just like he never missed a shot of his bow, he was always right. Lyn shook her head.

"Yes, I do. At least...until grandfather is..is..." Her voice cracked and her eyes shone. Lyn retreated once again and hung her head. He can't see my cry, she thought. To her surprise, a rough hand touched her face, this time under her chin, pulling her face up to meet a warm green gaze, then moving away. She watched through the shallow but unstoppable river of tears as Rath's other hand went to his head, jerking its orange cloth off in one smooth move and revealing the rest of his thick, silky hair.

"Forgetting to cry...surpessing one's tears...It is a terrible thing... See what it did to me? Tears that don't fall get absorbed by the heart...Makes it heavy and takes up all the space...leaves no room for other things. Like feelings." He said softly. Rath's eyes fell to his wrapped hand for a moment before he raised it to her face and wiped away the tears. Lyn closed her eyes and let the dam break.

"You're...you're right, Rath. I don't belong in Caelin, not as a ruler. I'm so glad you're here, though. I feel better now." The princess whispered. "I don't know if I can take it, when my grandfather...There's been so much pain, Rath. Why is it that everywhere I walk, pain and death must follow after me? All those people...we could have saved them, maybe talked them away from Nergal and the Black fang...but we killed them, no questions asked." She swallowed hard and let a new stream of tears flow. Rath still wiped them away with his beloved bandanna. For a while more, the two merely stood, the tall green-haired man sponging away tears, the princess will excessively long hair standing stiff with tears. Finally, they stopped and he withdrew his hand, and she looked up.

"Why are you here, Rath?"

His eyes softened yet again and his voice betrayed it's usual edge. "To tell you...that when there's nothing left in Caelin...there will be something...someone in Sacae for you, should that be the path you choose to walk." The last part came rather quickly and with a half-turn of his head, away from her eyes. Lyn's eyes widened and shone with happiness, illuminated by the fading light. Then they dulled with sadness, and she too looked in the opposite direction.

"I can't leave grandfather." Was her meek reply. "But..." she added, to quiet for even him to hear.

"I have no intention of wishing your grandfather's life away...You are still bound to Caelin, I know... I don't mean to pressure you toward my own wish." He said, unbound hair blowing with the constant breeze, the kind that blows all the way from Sacae.

"Ostia." Lyn finished. Rath turned back to her, the rare signs of confusion set in his face. "Ostia can care for Caelin. I...I am no good with these people. They don't want a mongrel like me sitting on the throne. They want a strong leader. Like Kent, or Hector or Oswin. They can care for Caelin. And I...I can be free."

Rath was closer to a smile than ever before, though it was faint and fleeting. He nodded, slowly reaching for her hand. "I will wait then. Don't rush; take as much time as you need...You are still bound. And it will take a time to settle matters with Ostia." Gently, the damp orange cloth was wrapped around Lyn's own fingers and Rath took her hand and pressed it first to his heart, then carefully to hers, as if it would hold the promise like it did the tears. Like his heart had retained his unshed tears for year after year, before drying in the warmth that came in the form of a green-haired angel. "Yes,...you still have binds that hold you to Caelin. Many of them."

Lyn stood and watched, never moving her hand from her heart even as more tears came, as Rath backed away toward his patient horse. Without another word, he mounted swiftly. Wind and silence became a choking blanket around them, hair blowing in every direction and not even a bird would chirp. The wind and silence followed the Sacaen prince as he and his steed turned and left, resuming the beat that had given away his coming. Lyn's tears didn't stop, but restarted with a new vengeance when she saw him stop and turn around on a hill not far off in the distance, the color of his clothes blending with the sun. He called back to her, barely loud enough to hear.

"Lyn of the Lorca and the Kutolah...I will see you again, when your binds break."  
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah. That was awsome...What a sucky ending. Well, first fics by young teens have been worse. Let's see...I'ts 7:10...minus the five collective minutes it took for me to use the bathroom, answer the door, and remove my stupid cat from the computer desk...Just over an hour and a half. Sweet.

**Proofreader's note from IceBlade28:** Sucky ending? Sucky ending! This  
story is something to be proud of! I thought I was a decent romance writer- you left  
me in the dust! BTW, there were no grammar errors or spelling errors that I could find, (with the  
exception of one: you wrote that she was controlling her whip of her ponytail as the find  
blew hard, rather than the wind blew hard. ) I also swapped and  
replaced one or two words so it made sense. Other than that, it was a great story!

Wandering Cat:No, I didn't make that up. It was in an actual e-mail. Which I mentioned before. I tried to make it romance, but not too much because that'd be worse if my family found it. hehhe... Uh...review if you want. I'd be happy just to get hits.


End file.
